Apparatus and methods for wire coil lead placement

ABSTRACT

Apparatus and methods for forming wire coil leads that depart from wire coils inserted into a dynamo-electric machine component are provided. A plurality of wire coils may be received on an insertion tool. A wire lead may be anchored at a location on the insertion tool. A wire coil corresponding to the wire lead may encircle the location in a plane of the insertion tool. In accordance with the present invention, none of the plurality of wire coils may surmount a first portion of the wire lead anchored at the location. In some embodiments, a template for winding the wire coils may be provided that has a seat portion on the underside of the template. The seat portion may receive a wire lead such that the lead is aligned with the anchoring location on the insertion tool.

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/817,715, filed Apr. 1, 2004, which claims the benefit of U.S.provisional patent application No. 60/460,833, filed Apr. 3, 2003, U.S.provisional patent application No. 60/462,560, filed Apr. 11, 2003, andU.S. provisional patent application No. 60/515,209, filed Oct. 27, 2003,all of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in theirentireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the production of dynamo electricmachinery components and, more particularly, to apparatus and methodsfor forming wire leads departing from wire coils. Apparatus and methodsof the present invention are applicable to the production of woundstators, in which coils are first placed on an insertion tool duringwinding on a template, and later inserted into the slots of the statorcore.

The aforementioned wire leads are extensions of the coil wire and needto be electrically connected to supplementary wires or terminal pointsfor electric supply to occur. The wire leads are routed alongpredetermined trajectories, going from the coils to the supplementarywires or terminal points. Solutions of this general nature aredescribed, for example, in Becherucci et al. International patentpublication No. WO 00/55960, published Sep. 21, 2000, assigned to PavesiS. r. L, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

It would be desirable to provide improved manufacturing operations toform wire leads departing from wire coils.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, apparatus and methods for wirecoil lead placement are provided. Apparatus and methods of the presentinvention make it possible to route wire leads along optimizedtrajectories, which occupy less space around the stator core and havemore analytical and definable geometrical characteristics. As aconsequence, the operations to route the wire leads on such trajectoriesmay be performed by automatic devices, such as those described incommonly-assigned Luciani et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,503, which ishereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

In some embodiments of the present invention, a method for forming wireleads that depart from wire coils inserted into a dynamo-electricmachine component may be provided. A plurality of wire coils may bereceived on an insertion tool. A wire lead may be anchored at a locationon the insertion tool. A wire coil corresponding to the wire lead mayencircle the location in a plane of the insertion tool, and none of theplurality of wire coils may surmount a first portion of the wire leadanchored at the location.

In some embodiments of the present invention, apparatus for forming wireleads that depart from wire coils inserted into a dynamo-electricmachine component may be provided. The apparatus may include a wirewinding means for forming a plurality of wire coils. The apparatus mayinclude an insertion tool configured to receive the plurality of wirecoils. The apparatus may include an anchoring device disposed on theinsertion tool configured to anchor a wire lead. The anchoring devicemay be disposed such that a wire coil corresponding to the wire leadencircles the wire lead in a plane of the insertion tool, and such thatnone of the plurality of wire coils surmount a first portion of the wirelead anchored at the anchoring device.

Further features of the invention, its nature and various advantageswill be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the followingdetailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of a wound stator core having wireleads formed as a result of applying the principles of the presentinvention. (For reasons of clarity, the slots of the stator core of FIG.1, from where the wire leads depart, may not correspond to those thatwould be chosen for the electrical scheme.)

FIG. 2 is a view from direction 2 of FIG. 1, although showing wire coilsand related wire leads formed and placed on an insertion tool as isachieved by using operations and devices belonging to the prior art. Theelectrical scheme that is illustrated in FIG. 2 may also be obtained byadopting the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of central area 103 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view, as seen from direction 4 of FIG. 2, showingdevices performing an operational sequence according to the principlesof the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view from direction 5 of FIG. 4 without showingcertain parts of FIG. 4 for reasons of clarity.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 4, although showing a differentoperational sequence, according to the principles of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 is a view from direction 7 of FIG. 6 without showing certainparts of FIG. 6 for reasons of clarity.

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 4, although showing a differentoperational sequence, according to the principles of the presentinvention.

FIG. 9 is a view from direction 9 of FIG. 8 without showing certainparts of FIG. 8 for reasons of clarity.

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 4, although showing a differentoperational sequence, according to the principles of the presentinvention.

FIG. 11 is a view from direction 11 of FIG. 10 without showing certainparts of FIG. 10 for reasons of clarity.

FIG. 12 is similar to FIG. 4, although showing a different operationalsequence according to the principles of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a view similar to FIG. 4, although showing a differentoperational sequence according to the principles of the presentinvention.

FIG. 14 is a view similar to FIG. 13, although showing a differentoperational sequence according to the principles of the presentinvention.

FIG. 15 is a partial view of area 15 indicated in FIG. 8.

FIG. 16 is a sectional view from direction 16-16 of FIG. 15, althoughomitting certain parts of FIG. 15, and showing others in differentoperational position with respect to their condition in FIG. 15.

FIG. 17 is a general elevational view of main apparatus members requiredfor accomplishing the principles of one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 18 is an enlarged perspective view of area 101 a of FIG. 17.

FIG. 19 is a partial view from direction 18-18 of FIG. 17, although withcertain parts omitted for reasons of clarity.

FIG. 20 is a view similar to FIG. 17, although showing a differentoperational sequence according to the principles of the presentinvention.

FIG. 21 is a view from direction 21-21 of FIG. 20 without showingcertain parts of FIG. 20 for reasons of clarity.

FIG. 22 is a view similar to FIG. 17, although showing a differentoperational sequence according to the principles of the presentinvention.

FIG. 23 is a view from direction 23-23 of FIG. 22 without showingcertain parts of FIG. 22 for reasons of clarity.

FIG. 24 is a view similar to FIG. 17, although showing a differentoperational sequence according to the principles of the presentinvention.

FIG. 25 is a view similar to FIG. 17, although showing a differentoperational sequence according to the principles of the presentinvention.

FIG. 26 is a view similar to FIG. 17, although showing a differentoperational sequence according to the principles of the presentinvention.

FIG. 27 is a view from direction 27-27 of FIG. 26 without showingcertain parts of FIG. 26 for clarity.

FIG. 28 is a view similar to FIG. 17, although showing a differentoperational sequence according to the principles of the presentinvention.

FIG. 29 is a partial perspective view of a wound stator core having wireleads formed as a result of applying the principles of the presentinvention.

FIG. 30 is a schematic view showing the insertion tool with a wire leadthat has been prepared according to the principles of the presentinvention anchored in a guide bar of the insertion tool.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to FIG. 1, according to the present invention, wire leads111, 112, and 113 may be formed so that they are positioned on theoutside of stator core 110 and around longitudinal axis 110′, whichpasses through the central bore of the stator core.

In particular, wire leads 111, 112, and 113 are not buried within wirecoils 114, but are instead positioned outside of the wire coils withtheir departure points near the outer portions of slots 115, 116, and117, as shown in FIG. 1.

As a result, gripper 124, having Cartesian motions x, y, and z androtational motion θ (around axis z), may freely move to dispose wireleads 111, 112, and 113 on trajectories such as trajectory 109,(illustrated with dashed line representation), extending around pegs 108placed on the end of stator core 110.

Without using the principles of the present invention, most of theresulting wire leads (see dashed line representations 111′, 112′, and113′) would stem from their portions buried within wire coils 114.Therefore, wire leads like 111′, 112′, and 113′ would require coursingover the wire coils in order to reach trajectories such as trajectory109 on stator core 110. Coursing of the wire leads over wire coils 114involves bearing certain of their portions on the irregular surfaces ofthe coil turns, which can cause the wire leads to dislodge andconsequently lack the drawing tension needed to permanently dispose themon trajectories such as trajectory 109.

FIG. 2 shows wire coils positioned on an insertion tool 125, such as theinsertion tools described in above-mentioned Becherucci et al.International publication No. WO 00/55960, after having wound the wirecoils by means of a flyer arm rotating around a template. In particular,the turns of the wire coils have been deposited on insertion tool 125during and after rotation of the flyer arm around the template.

Insertion tool 125 is provided with a circular array of guide blades 126(see also FIG. 3), which are concentric and outside a circular array ofinsertion blades 127. A guide blade of the guide blade array is alignedon the same radius of an insertion blade of the insertion blade array.Equal spacing, such as spacing 130, exists between the various blades.Guide blades 126 have the traditional function of guiding insulationcoverings, which need to be placed in the slots of the stator coreduring insertion operations to insert the various coils in specificslots of the stator core. At the same time, insertion blades 127 guidethe coils during the insertion operation to guarantee passage of thesame into the stator core slots (contemporarily aligned with the guideblades and the insertion blades).

The electrical scheme of the coils shown in FIG. 2 is an example ofthose used in a typical three-phase motor, in which: interconnected coilgroups 118 and 119 belong to a first phase, interconnected coil groups120 and 121 belong to a second phase, and interconnected coil groups 122and 123 belong to a third phase.

In the example of FIG. 2, each coil group has two coils, see for examplecoils 118 a and 118 b of coil group 118, and each coil such as coil 118a or 118 b is formed from a predetermined number of wire turns.Typically, a continuous wire stretch exists for transition between acoil such as coil 118 a and a successive coil such as coil 118 b.Similarly, continuous wire stretches exist for transition between a coilsuch as coil 118 b and a successive and opposite coil such as coil 119a, and also between a coil such as coil 119 a and a successive externalcoil such as coil 119 b.

This sort of pattern also follows for the other coils belonging to coilgroups 120-123. Consequently, groups of coils 118 and 119 of a phasehave an initial wire lead I₁, which is the initial stretch of wire ofcoil 118 a, and a final wire lead F₁, which is the final stretch of wireof coil 119 b. Similarly, groups of coils 120 and 121 of a second phasehave initial wire lead I₂ and final wire lead F₂, and groups of coils122 and 123 of a third phase have initial wire lead I₃ and final wirelead F₃.

All the mentioned leads are the result of being cut end portions of thewire used by the flyer arm to wind the coils around the template.

The order with which the coils are wound around the template andstripped from it to be placed on the insertion tool may occur accordingto a sequence such as, for example: first coil 118 a, then coil 118 b,then coil 119 a and then coil 119 b, for the group of coils of the firstphase. Then, first coil 120 a, then coil 120 b, then coil 121 a, thencoil 121 b, for the group of coils of the second phase, and finally,first coil 122 a, then coil 122 b, then coil 123 a, then coil 123 b, forthe group of coils of the third phase. The arrows shown within the coilgroups indicate the angular direction used to course the wire formingthe coils.

Each coil such as coils 118 a-123 b is positioned on insertion tool 125,as a result of being stripped from the template, so that its innermostportion (such as portion 118 a′ of coil 118 a, see FIG. 3) spans aroundpredetermined guide blades and insertion blades. For example, coil 118 aspans between guide blades 126 a and 126 e (see FIG. 3) as a result ofaligning these blades with the template during winding and stripping offof the turns of coil 118 a from the template.

The template can be permanently aligned with the position where coils118 a and 118 b are temporarily shown in FIG. 2. The insertion tool maybe indexed around centre 125′ in order to sequentially align thetemplate with further guide blades which will have coils span aroundthem, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3

When all the coils have been placed on the insertion tool, as shown inFIGS. 2 and 3, the insertion tool is transferred to an insertionstation, where a stator core is placed over the guide blades so that theslots of the stator core are aligned with specific guide blades andinsertion blades for receiving the coils which span around them. Inpractice, each slot of the stator core has to be aligned with a specificspacing, such as spacing 130, which acts as a guide corridor along whicha branch of a coil runs during the insertion operation. The insertionoperation progresses by passing a ram through central area 131,delimited by the insertion blades. The ram is moved towards the viewerobserving FIG. 3, all the way through the stator core, which is alignedoverhead. During the movement of the ram, branches of the coils runalong the guide blades and the insertion blades (e.g., along spacingsuch as spacing 30) in order to become aligned and pushed through theopenings of the stator core slots. Consequently, the coils pass frombeing in the horizontal orientation of FIGS. 2 and 3 to the verticalorientation of FIG. 1. In the vertical orientation, the underside of thecoils, when in the previous horizontal orientation, will be facinglongitudinal axis 110′, while the wire leads will extend beneath thestator core (in a condition represented by a 180° topple rotation of thestator core shown in FIG. 1).

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, portions of the coils surmount each other.Thus, and according to prior art processing methods, wire leads such asleads I₁, I₂, I₃, F₁, and F₂ will be surmounted by portions of coilswhich have been stripped from the template, after forming these samewire leads. As a result of the successive insertion of the coils intothe slots of the stator core, wire leads I₁, I₂, I₃, F₁, and F₂ will beburied in the coils, just like wire leads 111′, 112′, and 113′, shown inFIG. 1. Wire lead F₃ will not be buried in the coils like 111′, 112′,and 113′, however, because it is formed after winding all coils, andtherefore would be placed above them.

As will be more fully described in the following, the present inventionachieves that wire leads such as leads I₁, I₂, I₃, F₁, and F₂, whichwould be buried in the coils when using prior art methods, are insteadpositioned like leads 111, 112, and 113 shown in FIG. 1.

In accordance with the present invention, wire leads such as leads I₁,I₂, I₃, F₁, and F₂ are prepared prior to insertion of the coils in thestator core, so that they do not have certain portions of theirextension surmounted by any coil portions that become placed on theinsertion tool and which would otherwise bury them later as a result ofthe insertion operations.

Furthermore, in accordance with the present invention, such unburiedportions of the wire leads need to be positioned around centre 125′ ofthe insertion tool, and in a manner that they will be encircled by anyof those coil portions which would bury them later as a result of theinsertion operations. Consequently, the resulting portions of the wireleads, which are not buried under any of the coils, can be grasped andpulled until remaining portions of these same wire leads can bewithdrawn from being buried.

The end result is that the wire leads can be like leads 111, 112, and113, shown in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 4-14 show operational sequences performed in accordance with thepresent invention, prior to insertion operations, so that leads likeleads 111, 112, and 113 may be formed. The operational sequences involvewinding stages of coils like those shown in FIG. 2, and also theirtransfer to insertion tool 125 in order to span the front portion of thecoils around the guide blades according to the illustration of FIG. 3.

With reference to FIGS. 4-13, an initial lead such as lead I₁, I₂, or I₃may be formed from the extension of wire W spanning between flyer arm131 and lead holder 132, before actually winding the turns of the coilsaround template 133.

Operational sequences will now be described to show how wire leads likeI₁ may be formed in accordance with the present invention. Inparticular, the operational sequences will relate to the formation oflead I₁ belonging to coil 118 a. It should be appreciated that similaroperational sequences can be used to form other wire leads in accordancewith the present invention.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show flyer arm 131 ready to rotate around axis 131′ inorder to wind turns of coil 118 a around step 133′ of template 133.Template 133 is centered on axis 131′ (also shown in FIG. 2), and is inan upward rest position, as is required in stages between winding thevarious coils.

In accordance with the present invention, a limited portion of wire W,which is used to form the wire lead, may be temporarily engaged in arespective anchoring device 134 of one of guide bars 126 (in the case oflead I₁, guide bar 126 a is chosen for reason to be explained in thefollowing). The anchoring devices are positioned on the upper mostportion of the guide bars. Amongst the various guide bars existing oninsertion tool 125, the guide bars which should temporarily anchor thewire lead may be the guide bars (shaded in FIG. 3) around which the wirelead are routed to enter the coil to which it belongs. This guide bar isone of the guide bars around which the coil needs to span whenpositioned on the insertion tool. Therefore, and with reference to FIG.3, wire lead I₁ may be temporarily anchored to guide bar 126 a, wirelead F₁ may be temporarily anchored to guide bar 126 b, wire lead I₂ maybe temporarily anchored to guide bar 126 c, wire lead F₂ may betemporarily anchored to guide bar 126 d, wire lead I₃ may be temporarilyanchored to guide bar 126 e, and wire lead F₃ may be temporarilyanchored to guide bar 126 f.

Furthermore, the choice of which guide bar should temporarily anchor thewire leads needs to respect the condition mentioned previously (i.e.,the wire leads need to be positioned around center 125′ of the insertiontool, and in a manner that they will be encircled by any of those coilportions which would bury the wire leads later as a result of theinsertion operations). Therefore, and with reference to the electricalscheme shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, anchoring of wire lead I₁ to guide bar126 a obtains that coils 118 a, 118 b, 120 a, 120 b, 123 a and 123 bencircle portion of wire lead I₁ anchored to guide bar 126 a; anchoringportion of wire lead F₁ to guide bar 126 b obtains that coils 119 b, 121a, 121 b, 122 a and 122 b encircle portion of wire lead F₁ anchored toguide bar 126 b; anchoring portion of wire lead I₂ to guide bar 126 cobtains that coils 120 a, 120 b, 122 a, and 122 b encircle portion ofwire lead I₂ anchored to guide bar 126 c; anchoring portion of wire leadF₂ to guide bar 126 d obtains that coils 121 b, 123 a, and 123 bencircle portion of wire lead F₂ anchored to guide bar 126 d; anchoringportion of wire lead I₃ to guide bar 126 e obtains that coils 122 a, and122 b, 118 encircle portion of wire lead I₃ anchored to guide bar 126 e.

Continuing with the operational sequences, FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate thephase in which flyer arm 131 has rotated in direction R around axis 131′to reach position P₁, in order to place wire portion WP of wire W inalignment with temporary anchoring device 134 of guide bar 126 a.Deflector member 135 is used to raise wire W above portion 125″ ofinsertion tool 125. Deflector member 135 is configured to have twodifferent levels 135′ (superior level over insertion tool 125) and 135″(lower level outside the array of guide blades of insertion tool 125),so that rotation of the flyer arm around the template is not obstructed.

FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate a successive phase in which template 133 hasdescended to receive certain guide blade portions (shown transparent),as is required to start winding. Furthermore, insertion pin 136 hasdescended from template 133 to place wire portion WP in anchoring device134. After placement of wire portion WP in the anchoring device,deflector member 125 may be retracted, and flyer arm 131 may continuerotation in direction R to wind coil 118 a. After a few turns of coil118 a have been formed, lead holder 132 may release the portion of thewire lead which it is holding.

FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate an even further phase in accordance with thepresent invention in which a significant number of turns of coil 118 ahave been wound, and are in the process of descending along the guidebars partially received in the template. Portion WP₁ of lead I₁ is beingburied by turns, while portion WP is maintained in anchoring device 134so that it is free from being buried.

FIG. 12 shows coil 118 a completely formed and stripped off thetemplate, while portion WP is maintained in anchoring device 134. Flyerarm 131 is ready to wind a successive coil like 119 b around step 133″of template 133.

FIGS. 13 and 14 show the operational sequences to form a final lead likeF₁ on the opposite side of the template. For reasons of clarity, coil118 a, which has been wound and placed on the insertion tool prior towinding coil 118 b, has been omitted.

With reference to FIG. 13, coil 119 b is finished and certain turns ofstep 133″ need to be stripped from template 133. Once this has beendone, lead holder 132 may grasp wire W and move to place portion WP inanchoring device 134 of guide bar 126 b (see FIG. 14). After the instantshown in FIG. 14, a cutter (not shown) belonging to lead holder 132 maycut the wire W in a location such as location C to allow index of theinsertion tool, as is required to proceed with winding of coil such ascoil 120 a. A deflector member like 135 is not required for theformation of a wire lead like F₁ because rotation of the flyer will becounterclockwise around the template.

The operational sequences in accordance with the present inventiondescribed with reference to FIGS. 4-14 to form wire leads I₁ and F₁ maybe repeated to form the other initial and final wire leads that need tobe anchored to guide bars 126.

Insertion tool 125 needs to be indexed around center 125′. Therefore,insertion tool 125 is shifted, or moved, with respect to the fixedposition of flyer arm 131 and template 133, in periods between windingof angularly spaced coils, in order to align with the template theposition of the guide blades where a coil needs to be placed on theinsertion tool.

FIGS. 15 and 16 illustrate the constructional details of insertion pin136 and anchoring device like 134. Anchoring device 134 may beconfigured like an upstanding flexible post, manufactured by bending arod according to the configuration shown in FIG. 16. Upper enlargedportion 137′ of anchoring device 134 acts as a gate which withholds wireportion WP from exiting in direction D₁. Central portion 137″ joinsupper enlarged portion to bottom portion 137′″, which is inserted in aslit 139 of a guide bar such as guide bar 126 a. Bottom portion 137′″may be anchored in slit 139 by, for example, the pressure of a pin (notshown) forced into bore 140. Bore 140 communicates with, and istransverse to, slit 139.

Slot 141 of guide bar 126 a is capable of fully receiving upper enlargedportion 137′ and central portion 137″ when an external force from adirection like D₂ is applied to anchoring device 134. Preferably, thisresults in there being no obstruction along surface 142 of guide bar 126a when portions of the coils are there running in direction D₁ to beinserted in the slots of the stator core.

FIGS. 15 and 16 also show the constructional details of inserting pin136, which is provided with a V-groove 144 for capturing and directingwire portion WP between upper enlarged portion 137′ and surface 142 ofguide bar 126 a. In FIG. 16, portion WP is also shown as it would appearcaptured in V-groove 144.

Slit 143 present in inserting pin 136 is capable of receiving anchoringdevice 134 when the inserting pin is in a lower most position afterdescent, as shown in FIG. 15. In this way, V-groove 144 may direct wireportion WP down beyond upper enlarged portion 137′ to trap wire portionWP under upper enlarged portion 137′ (see also FIG. 16).

Once the coils are completed on insertion tool 125, and wire leads I₁,I₂, I₃, F₁, F₂ have been anchored to the required guide bars 126, asdescribed hereinabove, a wire gripper such as wire gripper 124 shown inFIG. 1 may grasp the wire portions such as wire portion WP just besidewhere it is placed in anchoring devices like anchoring device 134. Then,the wire gripper may move radially outward in relation to centre 125′ ofinsertion tool 125 in order to withdraw any remaining portion which isburied under the coils. Furthermore, wire gripper may place the graspedwire lead in an anchoring pocket around the stator core, so that thewire leads are ready for successive wire manipulation to completelyterminate the stator core.

Alternatively, a wire gripper like 124 may grasp the wire portions likeWP, placed in the anchoring device like 134, only after the coils havebeen inserted in the stator core. This may be done in the same way thathas been described previously for withdrawing portions of such wireleads which are buried under the coils. Again, the wire leads may beplaced in anchoring pockets for successive wire manipulation to routethe wire lead on a trajectory like 109, or the wire leads may beimmediately coursed on trajectories like 109 using a wire gripper like124.

In accordance with the present invention, improved solutions for forminginitial leads like I₁-I₃ and final leads like F₁-F₃ are provided. Inaddition, the present invention relates to achieving anchoring ofportions of these same leads to respective guide blades of an insertiontool.

In some embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to reducethe number of apparatus members required to form and anchor leads I₁-I₃and F₁-F₃ to the guide blades, and to reduce the time required forperforming the related operations.

FIG. 17 shows flyer arm 131 capable of rotating around axis O todispense and wind wire W around template 133 in order to form coils likeC. (It should be noted that coil C is a schematic view of a coil, andportions of it are shown as transparent in the FIG. merely forsimplicity.) Coils like C are shown deposited on insertion tool andaround guide blades like 126 a, 126 b, 126 c, etc. The assembly unit forcausing rotation of flyer arm 131 has been omitted for sake of clarity.However, such an assembly unit should be considered as beingconventional.

Template 133 has step 133′ that is aligned with certain insertion guidesin order to deliver turns of coils C to the insertion tool. Template 133is capable of being raised and lowered in directions E and F,respectively, in accordance with the present invention. Similarly,stripping members 214 are capable of being raised and lowered indirections E and F, respectively. Again, assembly units for lowering andraising template 133 and stripping members 214 have been omitted forsake of clarity. However, they should be considered as beingconventional.

Lead pull 132 is shown partially represented in FIG. 17, and more fullyrepresented in FIG. 19. Lead pull 132 is capable of gripping and holdingwire W with gripper portions 132′. In addition, lead pull 132 is capableof moving to any required position with respect to flyer arm 131 inorder to transfer and align a portion of wire W which it is gripping.Lead pull 132 and the assembly unit for moving it may be similar to theapparatus described, for example, in Luciani et al. U.S. Pat. No.5,065,503, incorporated by reference hereinabove. Furthermore, lead pull132 may be provided with wire cutters and wire inserting devices such asthose described in Luciani et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,503.

Certain guide blades like 126 a are provided with lead anchoring trough210 in the form of upright columns 210″, as is more fully shown in FIG.18 (which is an enlargement of area 101 a of FIG. 17Y. In FIG. 18, alead portion I₁ is shown inserted behind upright columns 210″ andagainst a blade like 126 a by moving the lead portion in the directionF′ (parallel to direction F). Releasable catches (not shown) may bepresent to avoid unwanted removal of the leads from behind uprightcolumns 210″. These anchoring portions may be also like members 134described hereinabove in connection with the embodiment shown in FIG.15.

FIGS. 20, 22, 24, 25, 26 and 28 are views like that of FIG. 17 to showthe apparatus members in various stages of operation according to anembodiment of the invention. In these FIGS. certain parts of theapparatus members have been omitted with respect to FIG. 17 for reasonsof clarity.

FIGS. 21, 23 and 27 are views like that of FIG. 19 to show the apparatusmembers in corresponding stages of operation. More particularly, FIG. 21is a view from direction 21-21 of FIG. 20, FIG. 23 is a view fromdirection 23-23 of FIG. 22, and FIG. 27 is a view from direction 27-27of FIG. 26. Also in FIGS. 21, 23 and 27, certain parts of the apparatusmembers have been omitted for reasons of clarity. For example strippingmembers 214 have been omitted in FIGS. 21, 23, and 27.

For reasons of clarity and simplification, FIG. 27 is showing variousstages of operation, as will be more fully described hereinbelow.

In all the FIGS. showing the stages of operation, the wire dispensingpoint of flyer arm 131 has been shown schematically as a circled X,while the wire gripping portion of lead pull 132 has been shownschematically as an X.

FIGS. 20-25 show a sequence of operations for forming an initial leadlike one of leads I₁-I₃, and anchoring it to a respective guide blade inorder to achieve the previously mentioned scope. It should beappreciated that similar operations can be accomplished for forming andanchoring of any other of the initial leads to a respective guide blade.

The rest conditions of apparatus of the present invention in order tostart winding of a coil and forming of an initial lead like I₁ are shownin FIGS. 20 and 21. Here, wire W extends from flyer arm 131 to lead pull132, which is temporarily holding an end portion of the same wire W. Atthe same time, template 133 is in a lowered and centered position thatbrings step 133′ of template 133 into angular alignment with guide blade126 a and further guide blade 126 a′ (see, for example, FIG. 21). Theresulting coil C will need to span around blades 126 a and 126 a′, ashas been described hereinabove in connection with FIGS. 1-14. Coil C iswound by rotating flyer arm 131 around center O of template 133 in achosen clockwise or counterclockwise direction (clockwise direction Dfor the purpose of this disclosure) for a predetermined number of turns.As shown in FIG. 20, template 133 has been lowered to level L₁, whichaligns flyer arm 131 with step 133′ where tensioned wire W will be woundaround the template due to the rotation of the flyer arm in direction D.

In accordance with the present invention, flyer arm 131 may start torotate around template 133 and proceed to form the predetermined numberof turns of the coils, while lead pull 132 holds the end portion ofinitial lead I₁. A first angular portion of rotation of flyer arm 131around template 133 forms the rest of initial lead I₁, which initiallyremains around and tensioned against step 133′ (see extension 205 ofFIG. 22).

Prior to finishing winding of the coil, lead pull 132, which is holdingthe end portion of lead I₁, is caused to move to position A (see FIGS.22 and 23), and if needed, slightly lowered to level L₂. The consequenceof this is that initial lead I₁, extending from front potion 216 oftemplate 133, becomes bent around and in contact with guide blade 126 ain order to reach lead pull 132 along inclined extension 204.Furthermore, portion I₁′ of initial lead I₁, which is just beyond thebend around guide blade 126 a, and towards lead pull 132, results in apositioning that is aligned over anchoring trough 210.

This movement of lead pull 132 to reach position A is possible becausetemplate 133 includes an open seat 200 on its underside. As shownparticularly in FIG. 23, initial lead I₁ becomes directed alongextension 204 which is within seat 200. Without seat 200 on template133, when moving lead pull 132 to position A, initial lead I₁ wouldremain against step 133′ (i.e., along extension 205). Preferably, seat200 is carved out of template 133 by removing faces 201 and 202,together with the posterior material up to plane 203.

Plane 203 may be substantially parallel to the direction which extension204 is required to have to align portion I₁′ with anchoring trough 210.In other words, initial lead I₁ passes from having extension 205 aroundtemplate 133 to having extension 204, as shown in FIG. 23. To achievethis, lead pull 132 may be moved to position A along a programmedspatial path which ensures that the transition from extension 205 toextension 204 of initial lead I₁ occurs without losing tension on thewire or alignment with anchoring trough 210. As described hereinabove,reaching extension 204 bends initial portion I₁ around guide blade 126 aso that alignment with anchoring trough 210 is achieved. Contact ofinitial lead I₁ with guide blade 126 a occurs because seat 200 exposestop portion 210′ of guide blade 126 a, as shown in FIGS. 18 and 22. Infact, seat 200 includes carving out corner 200′ of the template. Onceextension 204 is reached, initial portion I₁ may be inserted inanchoring trough 210 by moving lead pull 132 to level L₃ (see FIG. 24,showing portion I₁′ inserted in trough 210 and stripping members 214lowered after having finished winding of coil C).

The previously described movement of lead pull 132 to extend initiallead I₁ along extension 204 and to insert it into anchoring trough 210may occur while flyer arm 131 is rotating to wind coil C on step 133′,thereby saving cycle time of the general apparatus. This is possiblebecause all the aforementioned movements of lead pull 132 occur out ofareas that would bring it into collision with rotating flyer arm 131.For example, lead pull 132 accomplishes all the described movements inarea 212, which is below the plane containing the orbit of flyer arm131.

Once flyer arm 131 has finished winding the predetermined number ofturns which form coil C, any turns which still remain on step 133′ maybe stripped off template 133 by lowering stripping members 214 (see FIG.24). The end result of the previously described operations is shown inFIG. 25, where initial lead I₁ is shown anchored in anchoring trough 210and coil C is in a finished condition of positioning on the insertiontool.

A final lead like F₁ may be formed and anchored to an anchoring trough210 of a guide blade like 215 (see FIGS. 26-28) by operating as follows.

When flyer arm 131 is rotating to form a final coil on larger step 133″(see, in particular, FIG. 27, because in FIG. 26 flyer arm 131 and leadpull 132 are hidden by template 133 by the first operation stagesdescribed with reference to FIG. 27), for example, by counterclockwiserotation D′, and during rotation of the flyer arm to form the last turn,flyer arm 131 may be stopped in position G (i.e., in a position which isbefore the flyer arm winds the portion of the final lead which needs tobe anchored on guide blade 215). At this point, lead pull 132 may gripwire W at point H, which is near template 133 and on the wire stretchbetween template 133 and flyer arm 131. Then, flyer arm 131 may continueits rotation in the counterclockwise direction to reach point J (seeFIG. 27). In this way, extension 213 of the final lead portion has beenformed against step 133″.

Extension 213 has portion F₁′ which needs to be inserted in anchoringtrough 210 of guide blade 215. During rotation of flyer arm 131 to pointJ, lead pull 132 maintains a firm hold on wire W at point H, so thatwire W going from lead pull 132 to flyer arm 131 is maintained intensioned against step 133″ of the template (a conventional wiretensioning device—not shown—may tension wire W in its path to reach thedispensing portion of the flyer arm). Then, stripping members 214 may belowered to run any previously wound turns remaining on step 133″ andextension 213 onto the top portions of guide blades 215 and 215′.Immediately afterwards, template 133 and stripping members 214 may beraised to be out of the way.

Once template 133 and stripping members 214 are out of the way, flyerarm 131 may rotate to position K in order to bend final lead F₁ againstthe top portion of guide blade 215 and align it along extension 204 (seeFIG. 27). In this way, portion F₁′ is aligned with anchoring trough 210of guide blade 215. Then, stripping members 214 and lead pull 132 may belowered to insert portion F₁′ into anchoring trough 210 (see FIGS. 27and 28). Finally, lead pull 132 may release wire W at position H andmove to position M, where it can grip and cut wire W in order to freefinal coil C (see FIG. 27).

Alternatively, after gripping at position M by lead pull 132, flyer arm131 may accomplish further rotation to lengthen final lead F₁. Onceflyer arm 131 has done this and is stationary, lead pull 132 may move togrip and cut the wire adjacent to the flyer arm.

FIGS. 29 and 30 illustrate additional embodiments of apparatus andmethods for wire coil lead placement in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 29 is a partial perspective view of a wound stator core 110 havingwire leads 311 and 312 formed as a result of applying the principles ofthe present invention. (FIG. 29 is a view similar to FIG. 1, describedhereinabove.)

Wire leads 311 and 312 include loop portions 311′ and 312′ that departfrom the slots of stator core 110 (see departure point 313 for wire lead311 and departure point 314 for lead 312). The loop portions extend toportions buried under coils 315. In turn, the buried portions extend tounburied end portions 311″ and 312″.

In this way, wire leads 311 and 312 are positioned in predeterminedpositions with respect to stator core 110 and anchored by the resistancethat coils 315 exert on the buried portions. This is a conditionnecessary for a wire manipulator to be able to grasp wire leads 311 and312.

In accordance with the present invention, loop portions 311′ and 312′may be grasped by a first wire manipulator 316, which may then move inrelation to stator core 110 to pull wire leads 311 and 312 out frombeing under coils 315 (i.e., completely withdraw the wire leads frombeing buried under the coils—see the illustrated conditions of wire lead317, which has been withdrawn from being buried under the coils, bymovements of first wire manipulator 316). Once the wire leads are in thecondition shown for wire lead 317, they are free to be routed aroundstator core 110.

A second wire manipulator (not shown) may be present to hold the wireleads near points 313 and 314, when first wire manipulator 316 ispulling the wire leads to withdraw them from being buried under coils315. Holding the wire leads near points 313 and 314 with the second wiremanipulator, when first wire manipulator 316 is pulling the wire leads,prevents the wire leads from being drawn out of the slots from wherethey depart. Furthermore, the second wire manipulator may be used toroute the wire leads around stator core 110, once they have beenwithdrawn by the first wire manipulator 316. Also, the second wiremanipulator may have a sliding grasp on the wire leads during movementto route the wire leads around stator core 110.

The methods described hereinabove in connection with FIGS. 1-14 may beapplied to achieve that wire leads 311 and 312 have their departurepoints 313 and 314 near to the outer portions of slots 318 and 319 ofstator core 110, as shown in FIG. 29.

FIG. 30 shows the insertion tool with a wire lead such as wire lead 311that has been prepared according to the principles of the presentinvention anchored in guide bar 323 of the insertion tool. Other coilspresent on the insertion tool for the insertion operation have beenomitted, for sake of clarity.

For carrying out the insertion operation, stator core 110 (shown withdashed line representation in FIG. 30) is overhead and aligned with theinsertion tool. Prior to the insertion operation, loop portions such asportion 311′ may be formed by removing lead 311 from being anchored onthe guide bar and moving its portion 321 to an outward position, asshown by the dashed line representation 321 in FIG. 30. At the sametime, portion 322 remains buried under the coils placed at the base ofthe insertion tool. These principles may apply to form loop portionssuch as 311′ and 312′ for any other wire leads that need to be presenton the stator core.

Once all the coils are placed on the insertion tool and the wire leadshave been prepared in the manner that has been described for wire lead311, insertion of the coils may occur by means of the ram operations ofthe insertion machinery, so that portion 321 will result in becominglike loop portion 311′ shown in FIG. 29, and portion 322 will result inbecoming the portion buried under the coils, as shown in FIG. 29.

It will be understood that the foregoing is only illustrative of theprinciples of the present invention, and that still other modificationscan be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scopeand spirit of the invention.

1. Apparatus for forming wire leads that depart from wire coils insertedinto a dynamo-electric machine component comprising: wire winding meansfor forming a plurality of wire coils; an insertion tool configured toreceive the plurality of wire coils; and an anchoring device disposed onthe insertion tool configured to anchor a wire lead, wherein theanchoring device is disposed such that a wire coil corresponding to thewire lead encircles the wire lead in a plane of the insertion tool, andwherein none of the plurality of wire coils surmount a first portion ofthe wire lead anchored at the anchoring device.
 2. The apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein the insertion tool comprises a plurality of radiallyspaced guide bars disposed about a central axis of the insertion tool,wherein the central axis is substantially perpendicular to the plane ofthe insertion tool.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the plurality ofwire coils are distributed on the insertion tool about the central axis,wherein portions of the wire coils surmount each other.
 4. The apparatusof claim 1 wherein the anchoring device is disposed on a guide bar ofthe insertion tool, and wherein the guide bar is configured to route thewire coil corresponding to the wire lead.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4further comprising an insertion pin configured to exit from a templatefor forming the plurality of wire coils to insert the wire lead into theanchoring device.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the anchoringdevice comprises a flexible post having an enlarged gate portion, theflexible post being biased to press against a surface of the guide barto trap the wire lead beneath the enlarged gate portion.
 7. Theapparatus of claim 6 wherein the insertion pin comprises a groove forcapturing and directing the wire lead and a slit for receiving theanchoring device to enable the insertion pin to descend past theenlarged gate portion to insert the wire lead into the anchoring device.8. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the anchoring device is axiallyspaced with respect to the central axis of the insertion tool from aposition of the wire coil corresponding to the wire lead on theinsertion tool.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising: wiregripping means configured to move the wire lead radially outward withrespect to a central axis of the insertion tool to withdraw a secondportion of the wire lead buried beneath the plurality of wire coils. 10.The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising: wire gripping meansconfigured to withdraw a second portion of the wire lead buried beneaththe plurality of wire coils after the plurality of wire coils have beeninserted into the machine component.
 11. The apparatus of claim 1further comprising: a deflector member configured to raise a wireportion adjacent to the first portion of the wire lead above theinsertion tool to enable the wire winding means to form the wire coilcorresponding to the wire lead.
 12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein thewire winding means comprises: a template for forming the plurality ofwire coils having an open seat, wherein a plane of the open seat issubstantially perpendicular to the plane of the insertion tool, andwherein the plane is further parallel to an extension of the anchoringdevice configured to receive the wire lead.
 13. The apparatus of claim12 wherein the open seat of the template comprises a cut-out portion ofthe template facing the insertion tool.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13,wherein the open seat is configured to receive the wire lead such thatthe wire lead extends within the seat portion and is aligned with theanchoring device.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14 further comprising: alead pull member comprising gripping portions configured to hold an endportion of the initial wire lead when the wire coil corresponding to theinitial wire lead is formed on the template, and wherein the lead pullmember is configured to insert the initial wire lead into the anchoringdevice.
 16. The apparatus of claim 14 further comprising at least onestripping member configured to: strip the plurality of wire coils off ofthe template such that the wire coils are received by the insertiontool; and insert the final wire lead into the anchoring device.
 17. Theapparatus of claim 1 further comprising: first wire gripping meansconfigured to withdraw a second portion of the wire lead buried beneaththe plurality of wire coils after the plurality of wire coils have beeninserted into the machine component; and a second wire gripping meansconfigured to hold the first portion of the wire lead such that thefirst portion remains coupled to the machine component while the secondportion is withdrawn from beneath the wire coils.